Social Media Catching Workers

social-media

I was reading an article at News.com.au this morning titled Bosses catching employees out through Facebook and Twitter posts. It’s about employees getting caught out by their bosses when using social media.

There have been cases of people taking a sick day and then tweeting about it or saying something about what they’re doing on Facebook. Not a clever thing to do.

In 2010 a Port Macquarie barman who took two sick days around New Year’s Eve was sacked after his boss discovered a Facebook photo of him celebrating the occasion.

In 2008, 21-year-old Sydney call centre worker Kyle Doyle made headlines after his boss caught him bragging on Facebook about chucking a sickie, with an email exchange between the two going viral.

Social media has advanced so quickly that many people are still catching up with the full effects of sharing their life with the world.

“Back three or four years ago when social media wasn’t as prolific as it is now you’d likely be slapped on the wrist for an indiscretion, but people now don’t have the excuse to make mistakes because we’ve seen so many fails of people doing it, and companies are so much more aware of policies are being in place and training,” she said.

I’m wondering if you’ve ever been caught out with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or other social media. Has a boss read something you’d rather they hadn’t or maybe a friend or family member discovered something about you through social media?

If you’re game, I’d love to hear your experiences. Maybe you’ve declined an invite from a friend only to have them find out the reason you gave them wasn’t quite true. Let me know if social media has brought you undone. I won’t tell anyone. I promise.



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About the author

Rodney Olsen

Rodney is a husband, father, cyclist, blogger and podcaster from Perth Western Australia.

He previously worked in radio for about 25 years but these days he spends his time at Compassion Australia, working towards releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name.

The views he expresses here are his own.

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